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Indiana Fights For The Right To Trim

Cosmetologists in Indianapolis, Indiana are taking to the Indiana Statehouse to fight a law that is keeping them from trimming beards and mustaches.

The Journal Gazette reported yesterday that in August, the State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners reversed a cosmetology practice that had been in place for decades with a 3-1 vote that said “cosmetologists and cosmetology students may not trim or cut beards or mustaches, though barbers can.”

In response, House Bill 1172 came into play, which reverses the Board’s vote by adding shaving and trimming beards and mustaches to the definition of cosmetology. The bill passed 65-27, but now barbers are concerned that with cosmetologists now allowed to perform trims and cuts, their own barber businesses will suffer.

The Journal’s report says that “Rep. John Bartlett, D-Indianapolis, said the bill could put barbers out of business, noting there are 46,000 licensed cosmetologists in Indiana but only 3,400 licensed barbers.”